This book presents comprehensive political, social and economic statistics on the 24 OECD countries. The book is divided into two main sections. The first section features comparative tables covering ...
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This book presents comprehensive political, social and economic statistics on the 24 OECD countries. The book is divided into two main sections. The first section features comparative tables covering all countries. It contains data on population structure, employment, economy, industry, public expenditure and taxation, government structure, and electoral data. The second section covers the most significant features of government and politics. It provides information on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic materials about economic interest, organisations and the media.Less

Political Data Handbook : OECD Countries

Jan-Erik LaneDavid McKayKenneth Newton

Published in print: 1996-12-26

This book presents comprehensive political, social and economic statistics on the 24 OECD countries. The book is divided into two main sections. The first section features comparative tables covering all countries. It contains data on population structure, employment, economy, industry, public expenditure and taxation, government structure, and electoral data. The second section covers the most significant features of government and politics. It provides information on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic materials about economic interest, organisations and the media.

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the purpose of this book. It then presents an overview of statistics on OECD countries. The rationale behind the authors’ decisions on ...
More

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the purpose of this book. It then presents an overview of statistics on OECD countries. The rationale behind the authors’ decisions on what variables and statistics to include is explained.Less

Introduction

Jan‐Erik LaneDavid McKayKenneth Newton

Published in print: 1996-12-26

This introductory chapter begins with a brief description of the purpose of this book. It then presents an overview of statistics on OECD countries. The rationale behind the authors’ decisions on what variables and statistics to include is explained.

This book gives a twist to the longstanding debate on the impact of economic globalization on the welfare state. It focuses on several small, advanced OECD economies in order to assess whether (and ...
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This book gives a twist to the longstanding debate on the impact of economic globalization on the welfare state. It focuses on several small, advanced OECD economies in order to assess whether (and how) the welfare state will be able to compete under conditions of an increasingly integrated world economy. Small states can be seen as an ‘early warning system’ for general trends, because of their dependence on world markets and vulnerability to competitive pressures. The book's theoretical part integrates the literature on the political economy of small states with more recent research on the impact of globalization on social policy to generate a set of ideal-typical policy scenarios. It systematically tests these scenarios against the experience of four countries: Austria, Denmark, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The comparative analysis of reform trajectories since the 1970s in four key policy areas — pensions, labour market policy, health care, and family policy — provides substantial evidence of a new convergence in welfare state patterns. This amounts to a fundamental transformation of the welfare state from the old Keynesian welfare state positioned ‘against the market’ to a new set of supply-side policies ‘with’ and ‘for’ the market. Yet one of the big lessons to be learned from this study is that the transformation does not match the doomsday scenario predicted by neo-classical economists in the 1990s.Less

Transformations of the Welfare State : Small States, Big Lessons

Published in print: 2010-06-03

This book gives a twist to the longstanding debate on the impact of economic globalization on the welfare state. It focuses on several small, advanced OECD economies in order to assess whether (and how) the welfare state will be able to compete under conditions of an increasingly integrated world economy. Small states can be seen as an ‘early warning system’ for general trends, because of their dependence on world markets and vulnerability to competitive pressures. The book's theoretical part integrates the literature on the political economy of small states with more recent research on the impact of globalization on social policy to generate a set of ideal-typical policy scenarios. It systematically tests these scenarios against the experience of four countries: Austria, Denmark, New Zealand, and Switzerland. The comparative analysis of reform trajectories since the 1970s in four key policy areas — pensions, labour market policy, health care, and family policy — provides substantial evidence of a new convergence in welfare state patterns. This amounts to a fundamental transformation of the welfare state from the old Keynesian welfare state positioned ‘against the market’ to a new set of supply-side policies ‘with’ and ‘for’ the market. Yet one of the big lessons to be learned from this study is that the transformation does not match the doomsday scenario predicted by neo-classical economists in the 1990s.

This chapter focuses on the difference between free trade agreements with rules of origin and customs unions. The first part develops a model to assess the trade and production in intermediate and ...
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This chapter focuses on the difference between free trade agreements with rules of origin and customs unions. The first part develops a model to assess the trade and production in intermediate and final goods under these two forms of preferential trading arrangements. The second part performs a cross-sectional econometric analysis of bilateral trade in finished motor vehicles and parts in the OECD area. The findings suggest that ROO can be an effective barrier against third-party suppliers of intermediate goods, and that the ‘border effect’ on trade is mitigated within customs unions.Less

Olivier CadotAntoni EstevadeordalAkiko Suwa-EisenmannThierry Verdier

Published in print: 2006-02-23

This chapter focuses on the difference between free trade agreements with rules of origin and customs unions. The first part develops a model to assess the trade and production in intermediate and final goods under these two forms of preferential trading arrangements. The second part performs a cross-sectional econometric analysis of bilateral trade in finished motor vehicles and parts in the OECD area. The findings suggest that ROO can be an effective barrier against third-party suppliers of intermediate goods, and that the ‘border effect’ on trade is mitigated within customs unions.

This introductory chapter defines the questions and goals of the study, and provides a brief overview on the state of research regarding the performance of democracies. It seeks to answer two ...
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This introductory chapter defines the questions and goals of the study, and provides a brief overview on the state of research regarding the performance of democracies. It seeks to answer two questions: Is the effectiveness of western democracies in decline and do institutions matter for political effectiveness? The continuous decline in the effectiveness of democratic systems was a prominent theme in various crisis theories (ungovernability, legitimation crisis) since the 1970s. Since the early 1990s, it has been taken up by globalization theories. The assertion that institutions matter for political performance reaches back to the emergence of the —new institutionalism— in the early 1980s. The most relevant precursor for this study of the performance of democracies is Arend Lijphart’s Patterns of Democracy (1999). His book along with other contributions from the fields of comparative public policy and comparative sociology on the quality of life is used to clarify the contribution of this study on the institutional basis of political performance, and to elaborate to what extent it goes beyond the current state of research.Less

Introduction

Edeltraud Roller

Published in print: 2005-09-29

This introductory chapter defines the questions and goals of the study, and provides a brief overview on the state of research regarding the performance of democracies. It seeks to answer two questions: Is the effectiveness of western democracies in decline and do institutions matter for political effectiveness? The continuous decline in the effectiveness of democratic systems was a prominent theme in various crisis theories (ungovernability, legitimation crisis) since the 1970s. Since the early 1990s, it has been taken up by globalization theories. The assertion that institutions matter for political performance reaches back to the emergence of the —new institutionalism— in the early 1980s. The most relevant precursor for this study of the performance of democracies is Arend Lijphart’s Patterns of Democracy (1999). His book along with other contributions from the fields of comparative public policy and comparative sociology on the quality of life is used to clarify the contribution of this study on the institutional basis of political performance, and to elaborate to what extent it goes beyond the current state of research.

The changes in the prevalent postwar business systems of many OECD economies can be analysed by extending the analysis of the four ideal types of institutional regimes presented in Chapter 2 to ...
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The changes in the prevalent postwar business systems of many OECD economies can be analysed by extending the analysis of the four ideal types of institutional regimes presented in Chapter 2 to incorporate two further features that affect the priorities and strategies of leading firms, and to identify the nature of the dominant coalitions that support these types. This chapter discusses these features of institutional regimes and the key groups associated with them, together with their impact on prevalent growth strategies.Less

Changing Institutional Regimes and Business Systems: Endogenous and Exogenous Pressures on Postwar Systems of Economic Organization

Richard Whitley

Published in print: 2007-10-01

The changes in the prevalent postwar business systems of many OECD economies can be analysed by extending the analysis of the four ideal types of institutional regimes presented in Chapter 2 to incorporate two further features that affect the priorities and strategies of leading firms, and to identify the nature of the dominant coalitions that support these types. This chapter discusses these features of institutional regimes and the key groups associated with them, together with their impact on prevalent growth strategies.

This section presents population data on OECD countries. It features tables on mid-year estimates, population growth, population density, age structure, birth rate, life expectancy, infant mortality ...
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This section presents population data on OECD countries. It features tables on mid-year estimates, population growth, population density, age structure, birth rate, life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and urban concentration.Less

Population

Jan‐Erik LaneDavid McKayKenneth Newton

Published in print: 1996-12-26

This section presents population data on OECD countries. It features tables on mid-year estimates, population growth, population density, age structure, birth rate, life expectancy, infant mortality rates, and urban concentration.

This section presents statistics on the social structure in OECD countries. It features tables on ethno-linguistic structure, religious structure, income distribution, labour force, migration, index ...
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This section presents statistics on the social structure in OECD countries. It features tables on ethno-linguistic structure, religious structure, income distribution, labour force, migration, index of social progress, and human development index.Less

Social Structure

Jan‐Erik LaneDavid McKayKenneth Newton

Published in print: 1996-12-26

This section presents statistics on the social structure in OECD countries. It features tables on ethno-linguistic structure, religious structure, income distribution, labour force, migration, index of social progress, and human development index.

This section presents employment statistics on OECD countries. It features tables on labour force, employment by sectors, armed forces, producers of government services, government employment, ...
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This section presents employment statistics on OECD countries. It features tables on labour force, employment by sectors, armed forces, producers of government services, government employment, unemployment, and industrial disputes.Less

Employment

Jan‐Erik LaneDavid McKayKenneth Newton

Published in print: 1996-12-26

This section presents employment statistics on OECD countries. It features tables on labour force, employment by sectors, armed forces, producers of government services, government employment, unemployment, and industrial disputes.